Lewis Hamilton appears set to remain with Mercedes and sign a £40m contract over the next few days following a suggestive post on social media. Hamilton won his seventh World Championship this season and in doing so drew level with the legendary Michael Schumacher for most titles. He also this season broke Schumacher's record for total wins, and now is just five shy of 100 with a win record of 35.71%. The British driver looks set to re-sign with Mercedes in pursuit of his eighth world title, with the contract reportedly set to be worth a staggering £40m.He had made clear his desire following this third-place finish at Abu Dhabi last weekend, saying he wanted his future to be resolved before Christmas. The suggestive tweet by the Mercedes account promised an impending announcement and was accompanied by quotes from Hamilton stating: "We as a team have more to do together."Hamilton's re-signing will likely be closely joined with the announcement of British financier and industrialist Sir Jim Ratcliffe as the joint owner alongside current team principal and CEO Toto Wolff.  

Elsewhere, Sergio Perez has finally got himself a drive for next season having signed for Red Bull in a deal that will see the Mexican racer partner with the exciting Max Verstappen in 2021. 

However, Perez's arrival is bad news for Alex Albon, who will be demoted to the role of a test driver for the Milton Keynes-based team. 

The upcoming Formula One season will see a brutal calendar that spans from March 21 to December 6 and feature 23 races.

It begins in Melbourne and ends in Abu Dhabi, with Silverstone taking place on July 18, a race which Hamilton has won six times in the last seven. 

No countries hold double-headers this season, whereas the 2020 campaign saw many nations hold multiple as a response to the coronavirus pandemic.